SA President Cyril Ramaphosa. Photo: Supplied.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged African Union (AU) member states to actively drive the campaign to end violence against women and girls across the continent.
Ramaphosa and several members of the Cabinet are in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia attending the AU meeting of heads of state and government.
Addressing the presidential advocacy gender pre-summit breakfast on Saturday, Ramaphosa said the 2021 Kinshasa Declaration, which emanated from the men’s conference to end violence against women and girls, committed governments to provide the necessary resources to end the scourge.
“South Africa wholly supports this critical platform. It is encouraging to see Heads of State responding positively to the call for more strategic collaboration to take this agenda forward.
“The Circle of Champions is about firstly, foregrounding the role of male leadership in the agenda of ending violence against women and girls across Africa.
“Secondly, it is about taking forward the commitments made in the Kinshasa Declaration and foregrounding accountability for delivering on them. For these reasons, the agenda must be driven at Heads of State level,” he said.
South Africa is among the countries that ratified the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 190 advocating for the elimination of violence and harassment in the workplace.
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The AU has embarked on a campaign to shift social norms regarding gender equality and violence against women and girls, said Ramaphosa.
“Addressing economic and political practices alongside social norms is critical. Moreover, it is key to understanding how history and current realities shape the manifestations of violence against women and girls in our societies.
“The Circle of Champions brings together African leaders as a show of the highest political will towards ending the source of violence against women and girls. It is the first time this has happened on our continent.”
The theme of the AU for the year 2023 is “Acceleration of AfCFTA Implementation.”
According to the Presidency, the summit will take stock of the progress made in the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) following the start of trading on 1 January 2021.
Ramaphosa also delivered remarks on the Africa Center for Decease Control as the AU Champion on Covid-19.
He is expected to table reports to the AU assembly, including one on the AU response to Covid-19.
The President of Senegal, Macky Sall, is the current AU chairperson.
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